Darkness Surrounds Me
by AFH
Summary: Angus has an hard time dealing with his past --- please read and review!
1. The Beginning of The End

It was silent in the forest of Temerah. A middle-aged woman sat on her horse and looked at her guide. A dark-haired man held her chains, while looking to the stars above them.  
  
"What's wrong? Can't find the way out of this forest yourself?" she said with a sarcastic smile "Silence." The man replied, while glaring over at her, "I can't think while someone is bothering me." "Ah, so you do have brains? I thought you were too stupid to think." "Will you stop? I could also just tie you to a tree and leave!"  
  
It was silent again.  
  
"You know, we could have a nice conversation." she said, to break the painful silence. "About what?" "Well, tell me about your past. I know the pasts of your friends, but I never heard anything about you." "My past is none of your business." "Are you telling me, Angus, that you have always been a thieve? You don't know anything of your past yourself, now, do you? Don't you know who your parents are? How you became an orphan?" Angus looked straight foreward. "Or are you the child of the devil himself?" Maeve said. Angus seemed to pop out of his trance-like state. "WHAT did you say?!" He looked steaming mad. His face was red of anger and the vains on his forehead were clearly visible. ".I shouldn't have said that, sorry." the woman said, looking to the ground. Angus was surprised by her respond. Maeve was a stubborn woman, and wouldn't just give up. "Thus." she whispered, so Angus could barely hear her, ".I have to find out for MYSELF!"  
  
A bright blue thunderbolt hit the stunned man in the back.  
  
He was a young child again, about six years old. A brown-haired woman with amazingly blue eyes was holding him tightly, while there were soldiers surrounding them. "Please don't hurt him." she begged, "Please, why can't you accept him the way he is?" "That thing is a gargoyle, a monster." one of the soldiers replied, while grabbing the boy's arm, pulling him away from his mother. He tried to scream, but the only sound that came out of his mouth was a sound only a devil could make. Scared by his voice, he covered his mouth with his hands. A soldier pulled something away from Angus' back. He looked behind him and saw black wings, like the ones of a bat, growing out of his body. Another soldier raised a sword above his head. The woman screamed, and after a few seconds he felt a terrible pain in his back. It felt like someone had crushed his shoulder blades with a heavy object. The last thing he saw was blood, and he fainted.  
  
.When he woke up, he was in a cage together with his mother. He looked behind him and saw that the wings were gone. "My beloved child." the woman whispered. Her eyes were staring through the sky. Angus wanted to reply, but the thought of the devilish sound made him not to. "My baby." she said, looking down on him, "Soon, I am going to our creator, never to return.do you understand?" The boy looked down, off course he knew what she meant. But why? It was almost like him mother had read his mind. "People think I am a follower of the dark. They think that I am a witch, therefor they are going to." She looked the other way, like she was ashamed of herself. "Listen, when I am gone, the king will let you go. I want you to go to Kells.but first." She touched her throath with her hand. ".I will give you the ability to speak." The hand moved from her throath to his. He felt something glowing, tickling, and he started to cough. She caressed him, until there entered a soldier in their cell. "It is time." he said. The young mother left her child alone in the cell, and after a few minutes, Angus saw a red glow through the window above him. ".Mother."  
  
In a flash, he wasn't in the cell any more. Instead, he was lying on the ground in the dark forest. He looked around him, but the only thing he saw was his horse. "She has escaped." he thought.  
  
He stood up and walked to his horse, while all of the sudden a jolt of pain went through his back again. "I need to find Cahath" He turned back to Kells, and forgot to find Maeve.there were more important things to do. 


	2. Reborn

Okay, the second part of the fanfic!  
  
Hope you enjoy it! Please read and review!!  
  
***  
  
...Angus entered the hut he shared with his friend Rohan, and fell on his knees after a   
  
terrible pain went through his spine.   
  
After a few minutes, Rohan got back to the hut and saw his friend sweating,   
  
still grasping to his back.  
  
"Angus! Are you alright?" he asked, while holding the ex-thief's arms.  
  
"Depends on what your find alright. . ." Angus moaned in reply.  
  
The Mystic Knight of Fire helped the man up and set him on his bed.  
  
As Angus laid down, it was like there were two thick swords penetrating through his body,   
  
and thus he tried to spin himself around, holding himself up with his arms.  
  
But the pain had also affected his arm muscles, and so he dropped down on his side.  
  
"Shall I ask Cahath to come over?" Rohan asked.   
  
"No, I think the pain will go away during the night, besides, it is starting to fade already."  
  
Rohan looked to his friend worriedly, and after he was sure Angus was asleep,  
  
he went to his bed as well. . .   
  
* * *  
  
The next morning Rohan woke up early. He listened to the sounds outside when the sound of   
  
dripping catched his ear. The sound came from the bed next to his,  
  
and when he opened his eyes and looked to Angus he was shocked by what he saw.  
  
The man next to him was still asleep and looked quit peacefull, but his back was covered   
  
with blood, which had partly dried.   
  
Rohan jumped out of his bed and could not decide what to do first: wake up Angus or go to   
  
Cahath.  
  
He ran outside, and stood there in the grass in front of the hut.   
  
The morning dew cooled his feet.  
  
"AIDEEN" he yelled, and he looked around him to see if the little fairy had heard him.  
  
"A good morning to you, too." he heard a voice say.   
  
He looked above him, and there was a young fairy hoovering above his head.  
  
"Aideen! Go get Cahath! And hurry!"  
  
He went inside again before the fairy could reply.  
  
"Humans." she sighed.  
  
* * *   
  
After a few minutes Cahath entered the hut and met up with an hysteric Rohan.  
  
"Cahath -- Angus --- he's -- there's blood everywhere!" he said, pointing to Angus and   
  
grasping the druid's arm.  
  
"Calm down, my friend." Cahath said calm, "Now, go and get some water."  
  
The blonde man went outside again, and Cahath sat on the side of the bed.   
  
Angus blinked a couple of times before looking up to the old druid.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked weakly, not noticing the blood at all.  
  
"Don't ask anything for now, I can't give you any answers anyway.   
  
It is the best thing to save your energy, now you still have some."  
  
"Huh? I don't understand."  
  
The druid shook his head and stared to the wall, until Rohan came back with a bucket full of   
  
water.  
  
Angus looked over to the bucket.  
  
"What's happening?"  
  
"Now, this is going to be a tad cold" Cahath said while holding the bucket above Angus.  
  
"What? Wha---HEY! Aww now I am soaking!   
  
You could at least undr . . . no . . . never mind . . . BUT I'M STILL SOAKING!"  
  
Rohan and Cahath ignored Angus, and watched as the wounds got visible throught the mixture of   
  
blood and water.  
  
"Ah, there we go." Cahath said, pointing to two large cuts in the man's back.   
  
"But, how did those came there? He wasn't bleeding yesterday."  
  
"There's something inside of him..."  
  
"WHAT?" Angus interrupted.  
  
"Nothing alive. Don't worry. I think those are just. . .well. . . to be honest,   
  
I have no idea. Unless. . ."  
  
"Unless what?"  
  
"Angus, I hope you are not offended, but. . . did you once had wings?"  
  
The man looked from the druid, to his friend, and back.  
  
"Well. . ."  
  
He looked to Rohan again.  
  
"I. . . well. . . I just reminded that. . .I did have. . ."  
  
"That explains everything then!" the druid said, standing up, "Your wings are growing back!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Both men yelled. . .  
  
* * *  
  
Next chapter will be here soon!  
  
Hell-N 


	3. Friends in Need?

***  
  
"I want you both to come over to the castle." Cahath said, walking to the exit of the hut,  
  
"I think that this is going to be a tough day for you, Angus. You might not feel any pain now,   
  
but you soon will..."  
  
Angus could hardly stand up and got some support from Rohan.  
  
"We will." Rohan said. He was very worried about his friend, who was now shivering.   
  
They accompanied the druid on his way back to the castle.  
  
* * *  
  
Nobody seemed to notice anything about Angus when they entered the castle. Deirdre was looking   
  
out the window, while Ivar and Garrett were discussing about horses. Angus and Rohan sat next   
  
to them and looked at each other.  
  
"Uhm...guys?" Angus interrupted. Ivar stopped talking about his horse and looked at the   
  
ex-thief.  
  
"Eh...what are your thoughts on...let's say...Gargoyles?" he said nervously.  
  
"Don't tell me you have seen one!" Garrett said with a disgusted look on his face, "Those nasty  
  
beasts were gone for years and I want to keep it that way! Gargoyles are nothing but trouble!"  
  
Ivar nodded, and Angus swallowed and looked over to Rohan again.  
  
"Why are you asking that?" Deirdre asked, walking over to the men.  
  
Angus took a deep breath, but could not find the words to say. He felt miserable.   
  
"Aren't there any good things about a Gargoyle?" Rohan said.  
  
Garrett looked at him.  
  
"The only good Gargoyle is a dead Gargoyle." he said, while taking out his sword and pointing   
  
it to Angus, "Now, where have you seen that thing, so I can make it a good one."   
  
Angus felt that his hatred for Garrett started to grow and looked to the man.  
  
"That thing is standing right in front of you..."  
  
Garrett lowered his sword and looked at his friend in disbelieve. Ivar and Deirdre looked at   
  
each other and started laughing.  
  
"I almost believed you!" Ivar said with tears in his eyes.  
  
Angus was very upset by the reactions of his friends. He looked around himself. He shook his   
  
head and ran out of the room they were in, leaving his friends shocked by this reaction.  
  
* * *  
  
"Did we say something wrong?" Deidre asked Rohan, who was looking out the window to watch a   
  
small figure running towards the forest. After that figure disappeared between the trees, he  
  
looked at the other two men.  
  
"He wasn't joking." he said.  
  
"What? Do you mean that he is realy a... a..." Ivar said.  
  
"A Gargoyle? He IS a Gargoyle?" Garrett yelled, walking towards the window and looking for   
  
Angus.  
  
"Yes, he is one." Rohan told Garrett, "And a good one."  
  
He pulled Garrett away from the window and held their faces close together.  
  
"And guess what? He isn't dead."  
  
"Yet." Garrett answered, pushing Rohan's hands off his shoulders and walking out of the room.  
  
Ivar followed his example.  
  
The sun was setting and slowly but surely night fell over Kells.   
  
Rohan was about to go to the druid's room, until he heard Deirdre's voice whispering his name.  
  
He looked around, and saw the princess looking out the window.  
  
"Is he going to be alright?" she asked.  
  
"Angus knows what he's doing. Remember, he used to wander all alone when he was a young child,   
  
and he made it back then."  
  
It was silent again, and Rohan walked up the stairs, leaving Deirdre all alone.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Rohan woke up by the yelling of the king. He went downstairs, finding the   
  
king surrounded by all of his guards.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, pushing some guards aside to see Conhobar's worried face.  
  
"Deirdre is gone." he replied.  
  
*** 


	4. The Creatures of the Dark

***  
  
Deirdre looked around herself while she was surrounded by the darkness of the forest. She was  
  
wondering if Angus was still around, and if so, if he would be close to her.  
  
Something was moving through the forest. She could hear branches break behind her, and she   
  
turned around.  
  
"Angus?" she whispered, "Is that you?"  
  
In the distance, she could hear something coming her way. It sounded like there were horses   
  
running towards her.  
  
All off the sudden there jumped a strange creature out of the bushes. It had the form of a   
  
human, but on his body there grew thick black fur. It looked at her with it's bright yellow   
  
eyes and howled like a wolf.  
  
"What are you?" Deirdre screamed in horror.  
  
The creature smiled, and long, white fangs were showing.   
  
"Don't you know what I is, you silly girl?" it asked, walking towards her, "I is a creature of   
  
the dark. But I thinks you knows me under the name of Werewolf."  
  
"Do you have a name?" Deirdre whispered.  
  
"I has a name! I is Omar, Mylady." the werewolf said, and bowed for Deirdre.  
  
Deirdre noticed that the horses were very close now, and a white creature walked out of the   
  
bushes. It was a large Centaur, with the pearlwhite body of a horse and on the place where   
  
normally the head of the horse would be, there was the upper body of a man with long,   
  
lightbrown hair. He was holding a bow and arrow and aimed at Deirdre.  
  
"Get out of the way, Omar." he said with a deep voice.  
  
More Centaurs stepped out of the bushes and surrounded Deirdre, while Omar went out of the way,  
  
just like he was told to.  
  
"You, what are you?" the white Centaur asked.  
  
"I'm a human." Deirdre replied.  
  
"What are you doing in our forest?"  
  
"I am...what? Your forest? Excuse me but this forest belongs to Kells..."  
  
"SILENCE!"  
  
No one said a word until the Centaur spoke again.  
  
"You do not belong here."  
  
"I'm sorry, I was just looking for my friend, but if you want me to go..."  
  
"You can't go."  
  
"What? Why not?"  
  
"You know too much. I am sure that you will get more of your kind and take over our forest."  
  
"No, I won't! Honest!"  
  
The Centaur ignored her and pointed his bow and arrow towards Deirdre.  
  
She closed her eyes and fell on her knees, praying to the Gods to let her go, when all of the   
  
sudden she felt a strong wind going through her hair.   
  
* * *  
  
She looked in front of her, and saw the back of a Gargoyle. His wings were spread out and the   
  
small vains were clearly visible in the thin leather-like skin.   
  
"Don't hurt her!" a familiar voice yelled, "She came here to see me. Please, let her live   
  
and I'll make sure she won't betray us."  
  
"Alright." the Centaur said, "But if she will, you will pay for it."  
  
The Gargoyle folded his wings again, and the other Creatures walked back into the woods and  
  
disappeared in the darkness...  
  
He turned around to face Deirdre, and she looked down again before she could see his face.  
  
"It's okay now." he whispered, holding out his hand to pull her back on her feet.  
  
She took the hand and was pulled against his body, while she was still looking down.   
  
Her hands touched his bare chest, and she could see that he was wounded. His stomach was   
  
bleeding and was bonded with a dirty piece of cloth.  
  
"Look at me, Deirdre."  
  
She did so, and saw Angus' face, smiling. His dark brown eyes were sparkling. But instead of   
  
smiling back, she turned her head down again.  
  
"What's wrong?" Angus whispered, his nose touching her forehead.  
  
"I'm sorry... I'm so terribly sorry..." she said, looking around, trying not to look at the  
  
man. She swallowed, and when she decided to look at him, their lips brushed against each other.  
  
They stood there for a while, not moving at all. She felt his hands holding her around the  
  
waist, and his breath warmed her face. He had closed his eyes and swallowed. Deirdre was sure   
  
he was enjoying this moment. She was a tad confused. She had never felt this way before in her  
  
intire life. Did she fall in love with this former-thief?  
  
She closed her eyes as well and decided that it was now or never, and softly, she kissed him.  
  
His eyes opened and he looked shocked for a moment, but he kissed her too, after looking deep  
  
into her eyes.  
  
But all of the sudden, he ended their warm embrace and stepped away from her, holding his head.  
  
"I can't!" he said...  
  
*** 


	5. Angus' Agony

The next few days were as usual. The knights had to visit villages and help things out. Ever since the war had ended everything became tediouse to them. There were no fights, no enemies, no nothing.  
  
Deirdre looked out of the window, to the full moon that lightened Kells up a bit. The stars shone brightly, and fireflies were flying past.  
  
She was about to go to her room, but some noise distracted her. In the distance, villagers were yelling, and she saw torches forming a circle.  
  
Afraid of what had happened, Deirdre went outside and ran to the village. When she finally reached the group, she saw a dark creature laying on the ground, screaming in pain...  
  
Some me were throwing rocks at the creature, others were pricking it with their rakes. Deirdre watched in horror, when she recognized the creature as Angus. He was wounded, and he tried hard to push himself back on his feet. He looked at Deirdre, panting, and falling back to the cold ground.   
  
"Stop it!" Deirdre yelled, "Stop it right now, can't you see he's helpless?"  
  
But none of the villagers stopped. Instead, they pushed her away while surrounding Angus.  
  
On the other side of the circle, she could see Garrett. He slowly pulled his sword, and walked towards the Gargoyle.  
  
The villagers finally stopped hurting Angus, and watched as Garrett held up his sword above his head...  
  
"NO!" Deirdre screamed as she dropped herself on Angus' upper body, "Don't even dare to!"  
  
She looked to Garrett fiercely. He dropped his sword when he saw Ivar and Rohan stepping into the circle.  
  
"How can you even think about such a thing!" Ivar yelled. He pulled his sword and pointed to Garrett's neck.  
  
"I will kill you if you'll ever harm one of my friends, expecially when he or she is injured."  
  
"I can't believe that you are on a monster's side."  
  
"You are the monster, not Angus."  
  
Ivar looked to Deirdre, who was now sitting on the ground with Angus' head in her lap. Rohan swallowed when he caressed his friend's hair and putting his arm around Deirdre's shoulders.  
  
When he looked back, Garrett was gone, and the villagers walked back to their hut's, leaving the three knights alone.  
  
The only sound that was heard were Angus' moans.  
  
"Is he okay?" Ivar whispered.  
  
"He has fainted." Deirdre answered, her voice filled with tears.  
  
"Let's get him to the castle."  
  
Rohan picked the Gargoyle up.  
  
"He has lost a lot of weight.." he said, "even including his wings he doesn't weigh much."  
  
When they walked back to the castle, Angus' wings left a trail in the sand when they were dragged along...  
  
~~*~~  
  
Back in the castle, Cahath examinated Angus' body. He pulled his right-wing, showing a big hole in the thin skin.  
  
"I think it is best to tie his wings together, to let them heal properly. There is not much I can do for him.."  
  
"Does he have to stay in the castle?" Conhobar asked.  
  
"Yes, I want him to stay here. That way, I can help him out as fast as I can if some problems are popping up."  
  
"No, I am sorry, but I don't think I can let Angus stay in this castle."  
  
"Why not?" Deirdre said.  
  
"First of all, there's no room for him. Second of all, he could be dangerous."  
  
"He's not dangerous!"  
  
"Deirdre, your father is right. It is a fact that Gargoyles who've just got back to their original form can lose their temper when something bad has happened. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but this looks like a very bad situation to me."  
  
"But...but...where does he have to stay then?"  
  
"Maybe the dungeons?"  
  
"No! I won't let you lock him up in a cold cell."  
  
"Maybe..." Rohan interrupted, "Maybe he can stay here, in the throne-room. There's enough space here. And I can keep an eye on him, just in case!"  
  
The king was thinking for a few seconds, and accepted Rohan's offer.  
  
"But as long as Angus is chained." he said, "I don't want him wandering around the castle!"  
  
When the others went to their rooms, Rohan looked over at Angus.  
  
"So, you have decided to wake up, eh?"  
  
He walked over to his friend, but stumbled backwards when Angus looked at him with an animal-like look on his face. His eyes were wide open, and he was grumbling and struggling to get the chains off his wrists.   
  
~~*~~ 


	6. The darkness has entered

...Through the whole castle, an horrifying scream was heard. It held the middle between a human  
  
and a dragon's roar...  
  
The young Gargoyle panted while looking at the knight, and he convulsed. His muscles tightened   
  
and his eyes closed. After a few minutes he relaxed again, and he looked up with his normal,   
  
human look on his face.  
  
"Rohan..." he sighed.  
  
"Y--yes?"  
  
"I'm in pain..."  
  
Angus bursted out crying.  
  
"I can't handle it any more... I don't know what to do..."  
  
"What do you feel, then?"  
  
Rohan sat down next to his friend and caressed his hair. He suddenly felt depressed and lonely.  
  
"My...whole...body..."  
  
Thoughts raced through Rohan's mind. Images of painfull moments of his life appeared in his   
  
head. He swallowed his own tears away.  
  
"It's going to be okay, my friend. Don't you worry, I'll make it alright. That's a promise."  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Deirdre found Rohan sitting against the wall, with his head in his hands.  
  
"Rohan? What's wrong? Where's Angus?"  
  
The knight didn't look up, he just pointed to the ceiling.  
  
Above their heads, Angus sat on one of the girders, his tail wrapped around the rafter. He  
  
smiled when he heard his name.   
  
"Good morning." he said. He spread out his wings and dropped himself in front of the princess.  
  
He softly putted his fingers against her cheek, but stopped when Rohan stood up.  
  
"I don't get it." he said, "I've been right awake all night because of you and that so-called  
  
pain of your's... But now Deirdre is here you feel great. Are you fooling around with me?"  
  
"I'd never fool around like that, mate!"  
  
"Yeah right. Maybe Garrett was right. Gargoyles are nothing but trouble."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Angus, were you fooling around or not? I want you to give me a honest answer." Deirdre asked.  
  
"I am not fooling around..."  
  
Deirdre sighed, "I'm sorry Angus... but I don't believe you."  
  
"But I..."  
  
"Not another word. Just because you happen to be a Gargoyle doesn't mean you are allowed to  
  
pretend that you are pitifull!"  
  
"I don't...please believe me..."  
  
But Deirdre turned her back on him.  
  
"I don't wish to see you any longer."  
  
"But..."  
  
"Goodbye Angus."  
  
Tears filled the Gargoyle's eyes when he looked at Rohan, who looked away.  
  
He straightened himself.  
  
"Fine, if you don't want me around, that's just fine. But I can tell you one thing..."  
  
He pointed his finger to Deirdre.  
  
"...you'll be sorry..."  
  
He climbed out the window, and pushed himself off into the air..  
  
***  
  
Now that was a short chapter! 


	7. The ElfProtector

"...Maybe I was too hard on him..." Deirdre said, looking at the window. "Maybe, maybe not...wait a minute" Rohan said, walking towards the window and looking down, "Didn't Angus have a large cut in his wings last night? Then how could he just fly off?" "He flew off? You actually let him free?!" an old voice asked, and the two Mystic Knights turned around to find Cathbad. "Uhm...yes...is that a bad thing?" Rohan asked. "A very bad thing." the druid replied, "Now, I have to go to the forest to find a friend of mine. She's specialized in the Anthropomorphs and Creatures of the Dark. Care to join me?"  
  
"Lóriodien? Lóriodien, can you hear me?" The three stood in the middle of the forest. A few beams of sunlight fell through the roof of leaves. Toadstools were growing everywhere, and the only sounds that could be heard were the calling of the druid, and the wind blowing past them. "Maybe she's not here..." Deirdre whispered while grabbing Rohan's arm. She was afraid of whatever might be hidden in the bushes. She was wondering if Omar was around, spying on them and going to tell the Centaurs that there were humans walking around in their forest. Only the thought of what might happen already made her desperate to leave the darkness.  
  
All of the sudden, a bright light shone through the trees and lighted up the space around the source. A clear female's voice spoke... "Cathbad, druid of Kells, why this sudden visit? I haven't seen you for a long time." The light shone even brighter when the source came closer. Cathbad kneeled for the source. "I came here to ask for your help, Lóriodien. You see..." The source interrupted him. "The Gargoyle will be fine. I'll be his guide through these dark times. Though he has already begun..." The light faded, and a young elf was now completely visible. She had lavender-coloured wings that looked like the wings of a dragonfly and she was wearing a lightblue dress. The sight of her left Rohan breathless. She looked at the druid with her brown-green eyes, which were partly hidden behind a lock of her darkblonde hair. "Begun what?" the druid asked. "He has started to regain strength...and that might mean the end of Kells." "Is there any way we can stop him?" "There's no way you can stop an angry Gargoyle... unless you can put a very powerfull spell on him... but believe me, Cathbad, you don't even have half the power to do that." "And how about you? Can you stop him?" "I'm sorry, but I am on Angus' side. Even if I had the strength, I wouldn't even think of stopping him." "Why not?" Rohan interrupted, "Are you saying you don't even care?! You'll just let him destroy Kells?!" Lóriodien faded away a bit. "We Creatures of the Dark have been oppressed by you humans for decades. It is time that you'll go through the horror that we've been going through! Now leave this forest and meet your fate!" It got colder in the forest, and a flash of light blinded the three humans. Deirdre was the first one that started to run. Running out the forest. Running from what scared her. Running to her doom... 


End file.
